Oct. 5, 1999 -- The National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) today announced that
the University of Virginia has been reprimanded for several secondary
violations involving the men's basketball program.

"We
acknowledge that serious mistakes were made and that the responsibility
for those mistakes rests, not merely with our former basketball
coaches, but with officials at all levels of the Department
of Athletics, myself included," Athletics Director M. Terry
Holland wrote to the NCAA enforcement staff last Friday.

"We
are pleased that the committee on infractions agreed that the violations
that occurred . . . did not result from an effort to obtain an unfair
competitive advantage," he said. "We have learned the
lesson that vigilance, even over those who act with honorable intentions,
is vital" in operating an athletics program fairly and in compliance
with NCAA rules.

Sanctions
imposed by the NCAA's infractions committee include the loss of
a grant-in-aid in one of the next two years, fewer official visits
to the University this year by prospective student-athletes, warnings
to several "representatives of the Universitys athletics
interests," and more rigorous rules education for boosters
and athletics department staff.

"Although
this is a very serious case, it should be classified as secondary,"
a member of the NCAA enforcement staff wrote to Holland Sept. 2,
noting that the more serious violations were isolated to one prospective
student-athlete and resulted in only limited recruiting advantage
because they occurred after the prospect had signed letters of intent
with the University.

Violations
cited by the infractions committee include improper housing arrangements,
improper access to the team's locker facilities, improper benefits
provided by
representatives of the University's athletics interests, and failure
by the University to monitor recruitment of the individual after
he had signed letters of intent to assure compliance with NCAA regulations.

In
addition, as the result of an internal University inquiry in 1998,
U.Va. self-reported two other violations: improper contacts between
a booster and four prospective student-athletes and the improper
loan to three prospective athletes of workout clothes for pick-up
basketball games that they were not required to return.

Since
last spring, Holland and the University's associate athletics director
for compliance, Lynn M. Mitchell, have taken steps to assure that
such violations will not occur again, Holland said. Written policies
have been issued that detail the requirements for complying with
rules governing official and unofficial visits, housing and employment
arrangements, and the use of facilities and equipment.

In
addition, Holland has notified the coaching staff of a series of
progressively severe sanctions he will impose for involvement in
future secondary violations. These include ineligibility for pay
increases for repeat violations and the loss of an athletic scholarship
for a third or later violation.

"We
shall do our very best to avoid any repetition of the current, or
any similar, situation," Holland said.

Contact:
Louise Dudley, (804) 924-1400 or Rich Murray (804) 982-5500

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Please contact
the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television
reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.SOURCE: U.Va. News Services